Harder To Breathe
by Miss Whatsit
Summary: Songfic to Maroon 5's "Harder to Breathe" - (One-shot) What happens when Ryou makes Ichigo work overtime?


Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or any of its characters. And "Harder to Breathe" belongs to Maroon 5, a great band.

* * *

_How dare you say that my behavior's unacceptable  
So condescending, unnecessarily critical_

How dare he! Making me work more! Grr! I'm going to kill him! I'm already completely exhausted, but noooooooooo, I have to work more because Mint has a stupid dance recital! Why can't he make Zakuro work more? Grr...

_I have the tendency of getting very physical  
So watch your step cause if I do you'll need a miracle _

I'm going to strangle him! Maybe then he'll stop making me work more! (Or give me a raise) Sheesh... He's not even _paying_ me for overtime! Hiretsukan!

Unfortunately none of my thoughts travel through my mouth because he's in his office upstairs and I'm mopping this ugly floor. It really is ugly. Keiichiro really should invest in some new flooring. Sheesh.

_You drain me dry and make me wonder why I'm even here  
This double vision I was seeing is finally clear _

I glare at the floor. It is stubbornly not letting me clean it. How? Well, I don't know, it just is. It's EVIL! Evil, I tell you! Grr.

But I know it's not really the floor that I'm angry with. It's Ryou. He makes me SO angry! I just want to push him off a cliff!

Suddenly I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. It's not Zakuro; she's busy crooning in the bathroom. It's not Lettuce either because she is cleaning up a parfait she spilled... It's definitely not Pudding because the last time I saw her she was entertaining the customers by balancing plates on her head. But I know who it is.

"Shirogane." I say coldly, in greeting. I turn back to my duty. If I were to look up, I would probably attack him.

_You want to stay but you know very well I want you gone  
Not fit to funkin' tread the ground that I am walking on _

"Ichigo." He says in greeting. He smirks and chuckles slightly. "Are you still mad at me for making you work overtime?"

I don't answer him. If he wants to be a jerk, he can be one all by himself. I'm not going to fall prey to his insults. But I'm turning red. I can feel my chest tighten with anger and I find it getting harder to breathe...

_When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love  
You'll understand what I mean when I say  
There's no way we're gonna give up  
And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe_

He laughed again at my silence. "You know, Ichigo-san," He said. "You're such a drama queen. You know that if I had let you out earlier you would have been bored out of your mind."

_What you are doing is screwing things up inside my head  
You should know better you never listened to a word I said _

(Ryou's POV)

Heh, she looks cute when she's angry. I'm just doing this for her own good. I don't want her to go home and do nothing.

_That's not why you did it and you know it. _The voice in my head says.I shake the thought away. It _was_ the reason I made her work overtime. With Mint at her recital...  
_You just don't want her with Masaya._ It responds. Not... true...

_Clutching your pillow and writhing in a naked sweat  
Hoping somebody someday will do you like I did _

(Ichigo's POV)

I turn to him. "That's not true. I have a lot to do. Even today. I had a date with Masaya that I had to cancel because of _you_." I point an accusing finger at him and he seems to cringe. I glare. "And I won't be able to see him for another two days because his obaasan is sick and he has to go visit her in Nagoya. It's because you don't THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!" I was yelling, now. My face was flushed and the mop lay discarded on the side.

_Does it kill  
Does it burn  
Is it painful to learn  
That it's me that has all the control _

"And you don't even feel any remorse! You just come down and laugh about it in my face! Hiretsukan!" My face is contorted with anger, and his is emotionless. Blank. He doesn't even flinch.

_Does it thrill  
Does it sting  
When you feel what I bring  
And you wish that you had me to hold _

I can't even read him. He's just _there. _Suddenly, I can't even try to decipher him because his lips are on mine in a passionate kiss. I try to pull away; after all, I _do _have a boyfriend. But I find after a couple of seconds I have no desire to pull away. His kiss is warm, passionate, and I can fee myself floating off the Earth. As he kisses me, it gets harder and harder to breathe...

_When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love  
You'll understand what I mean when I say  
There's no way we're gonna give up  
And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams  
Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe _

(Ryou's POV)

We pull apart, but I'm still holding her. Her head is faced down and she's panting slightly, as if she's out of breath. I stare at her, my eyes boring into hers. She looks up at me, smiling. She's blushing. I'm taken aback first, but then I smile and kiss her once more.

(Ichigo's POV)

_What about Masaya? ICHIGO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? _A voice inside my head scolds. As I look up at Ryou and see the same face I see everyday, I smile. And for once, he smiles, too.

When he kisses me once more, Masaya doesn't seem important anymore. I feel like I could stay in his arms forever. As I wrap my arms around him, I can feel his heart beating rapidly. He's out of breath, too.

_Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe..._


End file.
